Links

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Amazon launches web storage service

Amazon S3 (which stands for "Simple Storage Service") is a new web service that basically extends Amazon's huge data storage and transfer capabilities to web developers at large for a fee. "Amazon S3 enables any developer to leverage Amazon’s own benefits of massive scale with no up-front investment or performance compromises," goes the press release. Storing data with S3 costs $0.15 per gigabyte per month and $0.20 for each gigabyte transferred. The service is intended for web developers only, meaning it can be accessed with common APIs but not directly by end users, but files of any type up to 5GB may be stored and each file has a unique URL. It even has a built-in BitTorrent interface. It looks great for developers that have big ideas (and big data) but don't have the resources to build a big infrastructure themselves.

RFID chips can spread viruses

RFID chips can spread viruses:

While most of the protests about the spread of RFID technology have been related to privacy and related issues, here's a new issue to worry about: viruses. Dutch researchers implanted a virus in an RFID chip, and then used it to demonstrate that an infected chip could potentially spread a virus to a database server as it's being scanned. In theory, this could lead to compromised data in everything from supermarket product inventories to terrorist watchlists, resulting in mispriced ice cream and global chaos. We anticipate that security experts will respond quickly and install safeguards to protect databases -- except in the supermarket, where they're expected to allow tampering so that they can continue getting cheap ice cream.

Seiko Spectrum e-ink watch on eBay

Seiko Spectrum e-ink watch on eBay:

If you want to be one of the first to wrap one of Seiko's Spectrum e-ink watches around your wrist, now's your chance. If you're willing to pay a pretty penny for it, that is. Seiko, which originally put a price of about $2,000 on the watch, has now decided to offer it up on eBay as part of a charity auction for British charity Help a London Child. The auction is expected to start on March 19th and run through March 25th. Seiko is only making 500 of these, so if you want one, get ready to start bidding.

Bacteria-based fuel cells for tiny robots

Bacteria-based fuel cells for tiny robots:

Unless you're looking at some sort of cyborg solution, one of the biggest problem with tiny spy robots and other such entities is a reliable source of power. Some researchers at Rice University and the University of Southern California are looking to solve that with a new kind of fuel cell based on electron spitting bacteria. Apparently the bacteria can eat at about any material -- the target is waste water -- and spit electrons which the researchers hope to harvest and use to power the tiny bots. Luckily the Department of Defense is behind this to the tune of $4.4 million, so hopefully after they manage to churn out all the espionage needed for the decade, we might get some spillover to consumer devices.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Sony's Memory Stick Micro to debut in March

We were hoping it was just a bad dream when we heard last year that Sony was launching yet another version of the Memory Stick. But it looks like the company was serious about it, and you can soon begin adding Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) cards to your collection of Sony-specific media. Like MicroSD, MiniSD and TransFlash, M2 is designed to be used in cellphones, and chances are good that if you pick up any Sony Ericsson phone announced from now on (including today's newcomer, the M600) you'll have no choice but to go with M2 if you want to add storage. And chances are even better that you'll never see it used in any other manufacturer's products.

Sony Ericsson's new 4GB W950i Walkman phone

A few news sites in the Middle East tipped us off earlier, but now we've got it straight from Sony Ericsson that the W950i Walkman is indeed for real and is indeed sporting 4GB of sweet sweet flash memory. We're not so sure about this whole "Mystic Purple" color scheme they've got going, but there's a lot else to love, including UMTS, tri-band GSM, a rather large QVGA screen, and a 0.6-inch thickness. The Symbian OS phone also has Opera 8, Macromedia Flash Lite, video playback support, and a built-in FM radio to augment the standard Walkman MP3/AAC capability. We'll have to try the smooth keypad before we pass final judgement, but while sexy looking, it doesn't seem like it'll make one-handed texting any easier.

Sony Ericsson's HBH-DS970 stereo Bluetooth headset with remote

Sony Ericsson just announced their HBH-DS970 Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 headset with remote control. Yeah, it's not completely wireless since you still have those cables dropping down to the Bluetooth-embedded remote. But hey, you want the remote anyway, and by not strapping those bulky Bluetooth cans to your ears we expect you'll be able to rock the house for the full 6 hours spec'd with less fatigue. Call coming in? No problem, son, since the caller ID and number slaps right-up on the remote's display allowing you to accept or reject the call even if you are listening to music on another Bluetooth-enabled device. Although it doesn't say in the announcement, that remote should wirelessly control any Bluetooth device throwing down the AVRCP profile, Sony Ericsson or not. Expect these to ship in the second quarter for a yet to be determined price.